In one year, the number of companies handling more than 25% of all customer service inquires via social channels has doubled. That’s right. We’re starting to understand the breadth and depth of how social channels like community forums are increasingly becoming the preferred way to get questions answered and problems solved. In fact, community forums are now more effective as social channels than Facebook and Twitter.

Surprised? Don’t be. HP alone has more than a million registered users on its forums. They are engaged, curious and effective because of brand advocates—people who participate in communities and talk about brands just because they are knowledgeable about the products they like and want to help others have similarly good experiences. According to recent surveys, 92% of online customers trust recommendations from brand advocates. And 62% of users have used social media for customer service issues.

What better way to illustrate this than with an infographic?

This month, HP is celebrating the 5th Anniversary of our English Support Forums. Why is that significant? Because the way customers prefer getting support has quickly changed over recent years. With 1.4 billion page views to date on HP Support Forums, it’s clear that the customer experience is richer than ever. This is due in large part to volunteer HP Experts and Contributors dedicated to making a difference.

So, who are these experts? They are HP employees, HP Experts and other volunteer contributors who make time to help solve problems and answer the technical questions that customers post on the Forums. Community forums are designed to meet three main needs for consumers: to get information quickly, to get support from “people like me” and to get the most accurate information available to solve problems. Those are the critical success variables that forums must meet in order to meet growing customer needs. As the customer experience changes, support through social channels will become a defining force in building great customer relationships.

What have your experiences been like with HP support? We want to hear from you!